Absorbent articles having undergarment covering components with zones of extensibility

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, panty liners, and incontinence pads. More particularly, the present invention relates to absorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins, that have undergarment covering components (or &#34;side wrapping elements&#34;) that automatically wrap the sides of a wearer&#39;s panties and provide an alternative to conventional side flaps. The side wrapping elements have at least one zone of extensibility and at a region therein that is stiffer than the zone of extensibility.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 08/277,733, filed Jul. 20,1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,663.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to absorbent articles such as sanitarynapkins, panty liners, and incontinence pads. More particularly, thepresent invention relates to sanitary napkins that have undergarmentcovering components (or "side wrapping elements") that automaticallywrap the sides of a wearer's undergarments when the undergarments arepulled up, providing an alternative to conventional side flaps.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, pantiliners, andincontinence pads are devices that are typically worn in the crotchregion of an undergarment. These devices are designed to absorb andretain liquid and other discharges from the human body and to preventbody and clothing soiling. Sanitary napkins are a type of absorbentarticle worn by women in a pair of panties that is normally positionedbetween the wearer's legs, adjacent to the perineal area of the body.Sanitary napkins both with and without side flaps (or wings) aredisclosed in the literature and are available in the marketplace.

Generally when sanitary napkins are provided with flaps, the flapsextend laterally from a central absorbent means and are intended to befolded around the edges of the wearer's panties in the crotch region.Commonly, the flaps are provided with an attachment means for eitheraffixing the flaps to the underside of the wearer's panties or to theopposing flap. The flaps are particularly effective for preventingexudates from soiling the edges of the wearer's panties.

Sanitary napkins having flaps of various types are disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 4,687,478, entitled "Shaped Sanitary Napkin With Flaps", whichissued to Van Tilburg on Aug. 18, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,047,entitled "Sanitary Napkin Attachment Means", which issued to Mattinglyon Aug. 26, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,876, entitled "Sanitary Napkin",which issued to Van Tilburg on May 20, 1986 and its Reexamination U.S.Pat. No. B1 4,589,876, Certificate of Reexamination issued Apr. 27,1993; U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,343, entitled "Sanitary Napkin", which issuedto McNair on Aug. 25, 1981; U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,697, entitled"Disposable Sanitary Shield For Undergarments", which issued to Rickardon Aug. 20, 1968; and, U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,271, entitled "SanitaryNapkin", which issued to Clark on Apr. 2, 1957.

While sanitary napkins having flaps are commonly viewed as providingbetter protection against soiling as compared to sanitary napkinswithout flaps, some women find applying sanitary napkins having flaps tobe inconvenient for various reasons. For instance, some women find it tobe difficult to attach the flaps to the underside of the crotch of theirpanties. This can be due to factors such as the tendency for theadhesive fasteners on the flaps to stick to themselves or to other partsof the sanitary napkin. As a result, some women still prefer a sanitarynapkin without flaps. In addition, some women who generally prefer asanitary napkin with flaps, occasionally (such as during periods oflight flow) prefer a sanitary napkin without flaps. Therefore, there isa need for a sanitary napkin which provides an alternative to sanitarynapkins having conventional side flaps while still providing theprotection of side flaps.

Several variations of sanitary napkins having conventional flaps thatattempt to solve some, but not all of these problems are disclosed inthe patent literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,701 issued toMavinkurve discloses a sanitary napkin having elastic strands forproviding a greater convex shape to the body-facing portion of thecentral absorbent and for enabling adhesive-free placement of the flapsof a winged napkin embodiment into a pair of panties. The sanitarynapkin described in the Mavinkurve patent, however, still appears torequire the user to manipulate the flaps (by fast flipping the flapsupward and then placing the flaps in her panties and flipping the flapsback down) since the flaps appear to be pre-disposed to be in a downwardfolded condition. The Mavinkurve patent also requires that individualelastic strands be attached in a contracted condition to the centralabsorbent portion of the napkin and/or to its wings or flaps. Thenapkins described in the Mavinkurve patent can, therefore, be difficultand expensive to manufacture. U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,462 issued to Salernodiscloses a sanitary napkin with longitudinally expandable flaps. Theflaps are designed to fold over the exterior of the wearer's panty andthen to expand to conform with the contour of the panties. The Salernopatent, however, appears to require conventional adhesive fasteners toretain the flaps in place on the underside of the wearer's panties.

Thus, a need exists for an absorbent article, such as a sanitary napkin,that is provided with an alternative to conventional flaps. Inparticular, a need exists for a sanitary napkin having an alternative toconventional flaps which provides the protection from soiling ofconventional flaps and which can conveniently and efficiently solve theproblems caused when attempting to attach conventional flaps to theunderside of the wearer's panties.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide anabsorbent article, such as a sanitary napkin, that is able to providecoverage to the wearer's panties to reduce side soiling (i.e., stainingof the edges of the panty crotch) without the use of conventional flaps.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an absorbentarticle, such as a sanitary napkin, that automatically wraps around thesides of the wearer's panties by the simple action of the wearer pullingup her panties.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anabsorbent article, such as a sanitary napkin, that is able to wraparound the sides of the wearer's panties and stay without providingflaps having panty fasteners thereon, and without attaching separateelastic strands to the sanitary napkin.

These and other objects of the present invention will be more readilyapparent when considered in reference to the following description andwhen taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an absorbent article, such as a sanitarynapkin. The sanitary napkin of the present invention has a pair ofundergarment covering components (or "side wrapping elements") thatprovide coverage to the wearer's panties to reduce side soiling (i.e.,staining of the edges of the panty crotch) without the use ofconventional flaps.

The sanitary napkin comprises a main body portion comprising a liquidpervious topsheet, a liquid impervious backsheet joined to the topsheet,and an absorbent core positioned between the topsheet and the backsheet.The side wrapping elements are preferably joined to the garment-facingside of the main body portion inboard of the longitudinal side edges ofthe main body portion. The side wrapping elements comprise a pair offlexible elements that extend a short distance beyond the crotch edgeportions of the wearer's undergarment. The side wrapping elements arepreferably each provided with at least one zone of extensibility,preferably two spaced apart zones of extensibility. The zones ofextensibility are regions of the side wrapping elements that have agreater range of extension than the adjacent regions of the sidewrapping elements. The side wrapping elements preferably comprise atleast one zone of extensibility on each side of the transversecenterline of the side wrapping elements and a stiffer, less extensibleintermediate region along the transverse centerline of the side wrappingelements.

The side wrapping elements have improved resistance to bending,crumpling, and other types of transverse deformation than a similar sidewrapping element would have if it were made of the same material and wasprovided with extensibility along its full length. The stiffer, lessextensible intermediate region located along the transverse centerlineof the side wrapping elements provides the side wrapping elements withthe improved resistance to bending and crumpling. The improvedresistance to bending and crumpling ensures that the side wrappingelements will fold over the elasticated sides of the wearer's panties,and will not crumple when the wearer's thighs apply compressive forceson the distal edges of the side wrapping elements. The fact that theside wrapping elements have crumpling resistance and zones ofextensibility allows the side wrapping elements to automatically foldaround the crotch edge portions of the wearer's undergarment toward theunderside of the undergarment and to remain so folded over the crotchedge when the absorbent article is placed in an undergarment and theundergarment is pulled up adjacent the wearer's body. The zones ofextensibility and stiffer intermediate region, thus, provide a mechanismfor controlling the manner and location of folding of the side wrappingelements.

The sanitary napkin of the present invention provides an alternative tosanitary napkins having conventional side flaps for several reasons. Theside wrapping elements do not extend far enough outward beyond the sideedges of the wearer's panties to cause any inconvenience to the wearer.The side wrapping elements require no action on the part of the wearerto fold the side wrapping elements under her panties or to attach thesame to her panties. The side wrapping elements stay in place wellenough to cover the sides edges of the wearer's panties without affixingthem underneath the wearer's panties.

In an alternative embodiment, however, the sanitary napkin may beprovided with a fastener, such as a pressure sensitive adhesive, foradditional security. The adhesive fastener may be provided on thegarment-facing side of the main body portion and also extend onto thegarment-facing side of the side wrapping elements. In this embodiment,particularly in narrow panty crotches, the side wrapping elements mayfold around the side edge of the wearer's panty crotch so that portionsof the side wrapping elements overlap and, due to the placement of thepressure sensitive adhesive, the portions of each side wrapping elementadhere to each other at a location outboard of the side edges of theundergarment. This forms a novel structure that pinches the side edge ofthe panties between the folded portion of the side wrapping elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing outand distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as formingthe present invention, it is believed that the invention will be betterunderstood from the following description which is taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the sanitary napkin of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the sanitary napkin shown in FIG. 1 shown witha portion of the topsheet cut away to show the absorbent core.

FIG. 3 is a slightly modified bottom plan view of the sanitary napkinshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a panty with the sanitarynapkin of the present invention in place with the side wrapping elementsat an angle with the underside of the wearer's panties.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a portion of a panty with the sanitarynapkin of the present invention in place with the side wrapping elementsaffixed to the underside of the wearer's panties.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing one way in which the sidewrapping elements of the sanitary napkin might fold around and pinch theedge of a wearer's panties when the adhesive fastener on theundergarment-facing side extends out onto the side wrapping elements.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of the Flexure Bending Testapparatus.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing some examples of the type of results thatcould be generated during the Flexure Bending Test procedure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

1. General Characteristics of the Absorbent Article

FIGS. 1-3 show one preferred embodiment of a disposable absorbentarticle of the present invention 20. The present invention relates toabsorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins. More particularly, thepresent invention relates to sanitary napkins that have a main bodyportion 21 and a pair of side wrapping elements 50 that automaticallywrap the sides of the wearer's panties when the wearer places thesanitary napkin in her panties and pulls her panties up.

The sanitary napkin 20 has two surfaces, a liquid perviousbody-contacting surface or "body surface" 20A and a liquid imperviousgarment surface 20B. The sanitary napkin 20 is shown in FIG. 1 as viewedfrom its body surface 20A. The body surface 20A is intended to be wornadjacent to the body of the wearer. The garment surface 20B of thesanitary napkin 20 (shown in FIG. 2) is on the opposite side and isintended to be placed adjacent to the wearer's undergarments when thesanitary napkin 20 is worn.

The sanitary napkin 20 has two centerlines, a longitudinal centerline Land a transverse centerline T. The term "longitudinal", as used herein,refers to a line, axis or direction in the plane of the sanitary napkin20 that is generally aligned with (e.g., approximately parallel to) avertical plane which bisects a standing wearer into left and fight bodyhalves when the sanitary napkin 20 is worn. The terms "transverse" or"lateral" used herein, are interchangeable, and refer to a line, axis ordirection which lies within the plane of the sanitary napkin 20 that isgenerally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

FIG. 1 shows that the main body portion 21 of the sanitary napkin 20comprises the portion of the sanitary napkin without the side wrappingelements. The main body portion 21 has two spaced apart longitudinaledges 22, two spaced apart transverse or end edges (or "ends") 24, whichtogether form the periphery 26 of the main body portion. The main bodyportion also has two end regions, which are designated first end region28 and second end region 30. A central region 32 is disposed between theend regions 28 and 30. The end regions 28 and 30 extend outwardly fromthe edges of the central region 32 about 1/8 to about 1/3 of the lengthof the main body portion. A detailed description of a sanitary napkinhaving a central region 32 and the two end regions 28 and 30 iscontained in U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,680 issued to Higgins on Sep. 1, 1987.

The main body portion 21 of the sanitary napkin 20 can be of anythickness, including relatively thick, relatively thin, or even verythin. The embodiment of the sanitary napkin 20 shown in FIGS. 1-3 of thedrawings is intended to be an example of a relatively thin sanitarynapkin, preferably an "ultra-thin" sanitary napkin. It should beunderstood, however, when viewing these figures the number of layers ofmaterial shown cause the sanitary napkin 20 to appear much thicker thanit actually is. An "ultra-thin" sanitary napkin 20 as described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,950,264 and 5,009,653 issued to Osborn preferably has acaliper of less than about 3 millimeters. The sanitary napkin 20 shownshould preferably also be relatively flexible, so that it is comfortablefor the wearer. It should be understood that the sanitary napkin shownis merely one preferred embodiment, and that is not limited to absorbentarticles of the type or having the specific configurations shown in thedrawings.

FIG. 2 shows the individual components of the rain body portion 21 ofthe sanitary napkin 20 of the present invention. The main body portion21 of the sanitary napkin generally comprises at least three primarycomponents. These include a liquid pervious topsheet 38, a liquidimpervious backsheet 40, and an absorbent core 42 positioned between thetopsheet 38 and the backsheet 40. There are also occasions, however,when one or more of these components, such as the backsheet, can bereplaced by a component that serves as part of the side wrappingelements 50 described below. The topsheet, the backsheet, and theabsorbent core may be assembled in a variety of configurations known inthe art (including so called "sandwich" products and "tube" products).

Several preferred sanitary napkin configurations are described generallyin U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,924, "Bordered Disposable Absorbent Article"issued to Ahr on Mar. 30, 1982; U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,130, "CompoundSanitary Napkin" issued to DesMarais on Jan. 10, 1984; U.S. Pat. No.4,950,264, "Thin, Flexible Sanitary Napkin" issued to Osborn on Aug. 21,1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,346, "Elasticized Sanitary Napkin" issued toSneller, et al. on May 3, 1994; U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/096,121 entitled "Absorbent Articles Having Panty Covering ComponentsThat Naturally Wrap the Sides of Parities" filed Jul. 22, 1993, in thename of Lavash, et al.; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/124,180entitled "Absorbent Articles Having Panty Covering Components ComprisingExtensible Web Materials Which Exhibit Elastic-Like Behavior" filed Sep.17, 1993, in the name of Mansfield, et al. The main body portion 21 ofthe sanitary napkin may also be comprised of one or more extensiblecomponents such as those sanitary napkins, and the like described inU.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 07/915,133 and 07/915,284 both filedJul. 23, 1992, in the name of Osborn, et al. (PCT Publication Nos. WO93/01785 and 93/01786 both published Feb. 4, 1993).

FIGS. 1-3 show a preferred embodiment of the sanitary napkin 20assembled in a sandwich construction in which the topsheet 38 and thebacksheet 40 have length and width dimensions generally larger thanthose of the absorbent core 42. The topsheet 38 and the backsheet 40extend beyond the edges of the absorbent core 42 to thereby formportions of the periphery 26. The sanitary napkin 20 of the presentinvention comprises pair of side wrapping elements 50 that extendlaterally outward beyond the longitudinal side edges 22 of the main bodyportion 21 from their proximal edges 52 to their distal edges 54.

The side wrapping elements 50 can be of any suitable size and shape. Thedistal edges 54 of the side wrapping elements preferably extend outwardbeyond the longitudinal side edges 22 of the main body portion 21, adistance of less than one-half the width of the main body portion. Theside wrapping elements 50 of the present invention may have any of thedimensions and characteristics set forth for the panty coveringcomponents in the aforementioned U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.03/096,121 and 08/124,180 filed in the names of Lavash, et al. andMansfield, et al., which are incorporated by reference herein.

The side wrapping elements 50 can, as shown in FIGS. 1-3, comprise twoseparate components that are joined to the garment-facing side of themain body portion 21. The side wrapping elements 50 are otherwiseunattached to the garment-facing side of the main body portion 21 of thesanitary napkin 20 between the points of attachment and the longitudinalside edges 22 of the main body portion. The side wrapping elements 50can be joined to the garment-facing side of the main body portion 21 byany suitable attachment mechanism. Suitable attachment mechanismsinclude, but are not limited to adhesives, and the like. In theembodiment shown, strips of adhesive 55 are used for this purpose.

The side wrapping elements 50 can, however, be joined to the main bodyportion 21 in any suitable manner. The term "joined", as used herein,encompasses configurations in which an element is directly secured toanother element by affixing the element directly to the other element;configurations in which the element is indirectly secured to the otherelement by affixing the element to intermediate member(s) which in turnare affixed to the other element; and configurations in which oneelement is integral with another element, i.e., one element isessentially part of the other element. Thus, the side wrapping elements50 can be integral extensions of the topsheet 38 and backsheet 40 of themain body portion 21. In other embodiments, instead of comprising twoseparate components, the side wrapping elements 50 can comprise a singlecomponent (which may be referred to as a "panty covering component" or"undergarment covering component"). In still other embodiments, eachside wrapping element 50 can comprise more than one component.

In the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, the side wrappingelements 50 each comprise a web of material having at least one, andpreferably two zones of extensibility 56 therein. The zones ofextensibility 56 can be primarily extensible in the longitudinaldirection (that is, they are extensible more in the longitudinaldirection than in the transverse direction). In other embodiments, thezones of extensibility 56 can be primarily extensible in the transversedirection, or in any direction between the longitudinal direction andthe transverse direction. The side wrapping element 50 shown at the topof FIG. 3 has zones of extensibility that are primarily extensible inthe longitudinal direction. The remaining zones of extensibility 56 inthe embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3 are extensible in a direction that isbetween the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction. Theextensibility of all the zones of extensibility 56 on the side wrappingelements 50 can be in the same direction. Alternatively, one or more ofthe zones of extensibility 56 may be extensible in a differentdirection.

The zones of extensibility 56 are preferably capable of extendingbetween about 20% and about 80%, more preferably between about 40% andabout 70%, and most preferably between about 60%, and about 70%, underthe forces associated with wearing the sanitary napkin in a pair ofpanties. Preferably, the zones of extensibility 56 are capable of suchextension under forces of less than about 100-200 grams_(f) per inch(about 40-80 gf/cm), more preferably under forces of less than about 50grams_(f) per inch (about 20 gf/cm). The zones of extensibility 56 arealso preferably extensible without being elasticized or elasticated(where separate elastic bands are stretched and attached to the sidewrapping elements 50 in an extensible condition). Further, any inherentelasticity in the zones of extensibility 56 (that is, any tendency ofthe material comprising the zones of extensibility to return to itsoriginal dimension) is generally relatively low to non-existent.

FIG. 3 shows the preferred locations for the zones of extensibility 56and the manner in which the preferred amounts of extensibility in theselocations are determined. The curved line, E, in FIG. 3 represents thelocation where the edges of a wearer's panty crotch might lie when thesanitary napkin wrapping elements 50 being panties prior to the sidewrapping elements 50 being folded around the edges of the panties. Thepanty edges E cross the distal edge 54 of the side wrapping element 50at two points, designated P. The zones of extensibility 56 should belocated where the panty edges E cross the distal edges 54 of the sidewrapping elements 50. The distance, D, between these two points P variesdepending on the size and style of panties. A representative distance Dis equal to about 85 mm. FIG. 3 also shows portions 56' of the zones ofextensibility that are disposed longitudinally inboard of the points P(that is, toward the transverse centerline T₁ of the side wrappingelements). In order to fit a wide variety of panty sizes and styles, itis preferred that each of the portions 56' of the zones of extensibilitybetween points P is capable of extending greater than or equal to about10-15 mm and that the combined extensibility in these portions for eachside wrapping element is greater than or equal to about 20-30 mm. Thelongitudinal distance between the points within zones of extensibility56 that are on opposite sides of the transverse centerline of a sidewrapping element 50 is preferably between about 20 mm and about 150 mm,and more preferably is between about 30-130 mm, and most preferablybetween about 30-100 mm.

The side wrapping elements 50, as shown in FIG. 3, preferably also havea trapezoidally-shaped intermediate region or zone 58 located betweenthe zones of extensibility 56. The intermediate region 58 comprises aportion of the distal edges 54 of the side wrapping elements. Thisintermediate region 58 is stiffer (that is, more resistant to bending)than the zones of extensibility 56. The intermediate region 58 can alsobe less extensible than the portions of the side wrapping elements thatcomprise the zones of extensibility 56. The intermediate region 58provides the side wrapping elements 50 with greater resistance tobending and crumpling so that the side wrapping elements will fold overthe panty elastic, rather than crumple, when they are subject tocompression by the wearer's thighs. The stiffer intermediate region 58also helps to maintain panty elastic coverage when the wearer pulls herpanties down to check the sanitary napkin for soiling, and then pullsher panties back up. The stiffer material ensures that the side wrappingelements do not fold upward over top of the main body portion, and stayon the same plane as the main body portion of the sanitary napkin, whereflimsier material would be pushed upward during the motion associatedwith pulling the panties downward and might tend to fold upward over thetopsheet when the panties are pulled back up. Upon pulling the panty andsanitary napkin back up, flimsier material may also not be caught by thewearer's thighs and go back into place. The intermediate region 58preferably has a distal edge portion that forms a portion of the distaledge 54 of the side wrapping elements. The length D₁ shown in FIG. 3 ofthe distal edge portion, is preferably at least about 20 mm, and morepreferably about 30 mm.

The side wrapping elements 50 can be made from any of the materials usedin the construction of the main body portion 21 of the sanitary napkin.The side wrapping elements 50 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3preferably comprise a laminate of three materials, a soft extensiblecoverstock material such as a longitudinally extensible spunbondnonwoven web or a soft extensible formed film, an extensibleintermediate layer such as a three dimensional formed film, and anextensible liquid impervious backing such as a polyethylene filmbacksheet material.

The coverstock material preferably comprises a spunbonded polyethylenenonwoven web having a basis weight of between about 15 gsm and 60 gsm.The nonwoven web is made of single fiber filaments that are typicallybetween about 1 inch and 4 inches (about 2.5 cm to about 10 cm) longwhich have a denier ranging between about 1 Dpf and about 6.5 Dpf. Eachof the filaments possesses its own extensibility ranging from about 5%to about 200% per filament. The nonwoven web is preferably point bondedwith a total bonded area of between about 6% and about 40%. The nonwovenweb is capable of extension in the longitudinal direction of betweenabout 10% and about 200% under forces ranging from about 40 g/in at 10%elongation to about 550 g/in at 200% elongation without breaking.Suitable nonwoven webs include a product known as Spunbond PE, which wasobtained from Polybond, Incorporated of Waynesboro, Va. and a productknown as COROLIND PE, which was obtained from Corovin GMBH of Germany.

The extensible intermediate layer preferably comprises a variation of athree dimensional formed film known as DRI-WEAVE which is used as atopsheet on sanitary napkins manufactured by the Procter & GambleCompany, Cincinnati, Ohio under U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,342,314 issued toRadel, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,045 issued to Ahr, et al. Thethree dimensional film has an embossed thickness of between about 15mils to about 35 mils (about 0.38 mm to about 0.89 mm) and is notapertured all the way through as in the case of DRI-WEAVE topsheetmaterial, but is formed so that the apertures are closed off on the sideof the film that would ordinarily face away from the wearer's body inuse. The formed film resin composition is modified by adding a blend oflinear low density polyethylene ("LLDPE") and high density polyethylene("HDPE") such that the formed film is capable of extending between about60% and about 200% in the longitudinal direction. The formed film ispreferably extrusion coated onto the nonwoven web.

The polyethylene backsheet material is a film comprised of LLDPE thatpreferably has a caliper of between about 0.4-1.5 mil, more preferablyabout 1 mil. A preferred polyethylene film is known as #P18-1401 and isobtained from Clopay Corporation of Cincinnati, Ohio. This polyethylenefilm can either be glued to the formed film side of the laminate of thenonwoven and formed film such as by a spiral application of adhesives,or it can be extruded thereon.

The composite laminate preferably has a caliper of between about 5-60mils (about 0.13-1.5 mm) and is capable of extending between about25-70% without tearing under forces of between about 50-200 grams/in(about 20-80 g_(f) /cm). This particular laminate is chosen to provide asoft body-contacting surface, good extensibility in the zones ofextensibility when the zones of extensibility are formed therein, goodresistance to folding and crumpling and a liquid impervious barrier.This laminate is believed to be unique for several reasons. It isbelieved to be unique because it contains a drawable, butnon-elastomeric coverstock. Coverstock materials are oftennon-extensible. If a coverstock material is extensible, however, it isgenerally provided with an elastic or elastomeric type of extensibility.The spunbonded nonwoven coverstock used in the laminate described hereindiffers from such conventional materials because after extension, ittends to return less than 10% toward its unextended dimension. Theintermediate formed film layer provides the laminate with somesubstantiality and loft (thickness) without negating the overallextensibility of the laminate. The laminate described herein isparticularly useful in cases where it is desirable to make a materialextensible without prior stretching and bonding of elastic strands toanother material.

This laminate is also particularly useful where it is desirable toperform further mechanical operations on a material to provide theentire material with extensibility or to provide zones of greaterextensibility in selected regions of the material. Such furthermechanical operations include situations where the material is to besubjected to the "SELFing" process described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 08/124,180, or if it is ring rolled as described below. Thelaminate is particularly well suited for such mechanical processingbecause the components of the laminate, such as the drawable fibers ofthe nonwoven are less resistant to such mechanical manipulation and,thus, tends to better retain its mechanically induced characteristicssince it has little, if any, tendency to retract to its previousunaltered state.

(It should also be understood that the laminate described herein isuseful in any application where the above properties are desired. Thiscan include not only use of the laminate in the side wrapping elementsof the present invention but it also includes usage of the laminate asone of the component parts of other types of disposable absorbentarticles such as diapers and training pants. Examples of diapers andtraining pants are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,092 issued to Buelland U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,433 issued to Hasse, et al., respectively.)

The side wrapping elements 50 can be provided with zones ofextensibility 56 in a non-limiting number of different manners. The sidewrapping elements 50 may, for example, comprise a substantiallyinextensible material that is provided with extensible regions for thezones of extensibility. The extensible regions can be created in anysuitable manner, including but not limited to mechanically straining,corrugating, "ring rolling", heating and deforming, subjecting portionsof the side wrapping elements 50 to compression between mating plates,and the like.

In other embodiments, the different regions of the side wrappingelements can be provided by forming the side wrapping elements out ofmaterials having different extensibilities. For example, the sidewrapping elements 50 can be comprised of a laminate of an extensiblematerial and an inextensible material. In such an embodiment, theinextensible material can be provided in the configuration of the sidewrapping elements. The inextensible material can have holes cut outwhere the zones of extensibility are to be located. This inextensiblematerial can then be laminated to the extensible material to form a sidewrapping element with zones of extensibility where the holes were cutfrom the inextensible material.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3 has zones of extensibility 56 formedby ring rolling (or pre-corrugating) two regions of the side wrappingelements. Suitable methods for ring rolling are described in U.S. Pat.No. 4,107,364 issued to Sisson on Aug. 15, 1978, U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,741issued to Sabee on May 30, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,679 issued toGerald M. Weber, et al. on Sep. 1, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,793 issuedto Kenneth B. Buell, et al. on Oct. 20, 1992, and U.S. Pat. No.5,167,897 issued to Gerald M. Weber, et al. on Dec. 1, 1992.

The side wrapping elements 50 in most of the views of the embodimentshown in FIGS. 1-3 are provided with ring rolled corrugations havingfold lines 60 that are angled away from the longitudinal centerline L.The fold lines 60 can form any angle with the longitudinal centerline,between greater than 0° and less than or equal to 180°. The fold lines60 in most of the views of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3 form anangle of between about 40°-45° with the longitudinal centerline L. Theupper portion of FIG. 3, as noted above, shows that in alternativeembodiments, the ring rolling can be applied so that the fold lines 60in the corrugations are oriented generally in the transverse directionto provide zones of extensibility 56 that are primarily extensible inthe longitudinal direction.

The configuration and location of the zones of extensibility 56 in theembodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3 is preferred for several reasons. The factthat the zones of extensibility 56 are spaced apart and separated by thestiffened intermediate region 58 provides improved resistance to bendingand crumpling and more control over the manner of folding around theedges of the wearer's panties. The side wrapping elements 50 willtypically fold in the zones of extensibility 56 and the intermediateregion 58 between the points where the panty edges cross the distaledges 54 of the side wrapping elements 50. This makes the side wrappingelements sturdier and capable of more reliable folding than if the sidewrapping elements were made entirely extensible and/or were made ofmaterials having the same stiffness over their entire area.

Another reason the zones of extensibility shown in FIGS. 1-3 arepreferred is seen when panties having a narrow crotch are worn. If thewearer is wearing panties that have such a narrow crotch width thattheir edges lie inboard of the zones of extensibility as shown by thedashed line E', the side wrapping elements 50 will be predisposed tofold along a fold line, F, that connects the innermost points of thezones of extensibility The zones of extensibility 56, thus, allow thesanitary napkin to fit a wide variety of panty sizes. Preferably, thelateral distance between the innermost points of the zones ofextensibility on the opposed side wrapping elements is about 75 mm. Therest of the dimensions for the sanitary napkin or features thereof canbe scaled from FIGS. 1 and 3 using the 75 mm dimension provided above.

The garment surface 20B of the sanitary napkin 20 may include, andpreferably does include, fasteners for attaching the sanitary napkin tothe wearer's undergarment. FIG. 3 shows the central pad fastener 44which is adapted to secure the portion of the sanitary napkin underlyingthe main body portion 21 to the crotch region of an undergarment. Anytypes of fasteners known in the art can be used. Fasteners comprisingadhesives have been found to work well for this purpose, withpressure-sensitive adhesives being preferred. Before the sanitary napkin20 is placed in use, if an adhesive fastener is used, the adhesive istypically covered with a removable cover strip or release liner in orderto keep the adhesive from sticking to a surface other than the crotchportion of the panty prior to use. Suitable release liners are describedin the U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,697.

FIG. 3 shows a preferred arrangement which utilizes a pair of spacedapart longitudinally-oriented strips or zones of adhesive that arecentered about the longitudinal centerline L. Each of thelongitudinally-oriented zones of adhesive has a central lateralextension 46. The central lateral extensions 46 serve to adhere the sidewrapping elements 50 around the elasticated edges of the crotch portionof the wearer's undergarments during vigorous motions by the wearer(although such fasteners are generally not required under normalcircumstances). The central lateral extensions 46 of fastener adhesivecan serve to secure the side wrapping elements 50 to the top of thewearer's panties, and/or to the underside of the wearer's panties asshown in FIG. 4. In the preferred embodiment, the central lateralextensions 46 are spaced between greater than about 65 mm and less thanabout 90 mm apart so that they can be secured directly over and/or underthe elasticized side edges of the wearer's panties when the sanitarynapkin is centered in the wearer's panties. The central lateralextensions 46 are preferably located in the stiffer intermediate regions58 of the side wrapping elements 50. The central lateral extensions 46are preferably contiguous with the longitudinally-oriented zones ofadhesive, although this is not required. The presence of theintermediate region 58 provides an advantage in constructing embodimentsthat are provided with such central lateral extensions of adhesive.Since there is no need to provide the intermediate region 58 withextensibility, it is typically not corrugated so that it is easier toapply an adhesive-type fastener to the garment-facing side of theintermediate region 58.

The sanitary napkin 20 of the present invention is used by removing anyrelease liner and thereafter placing the sanitary napkin 20 in a pantyas shown in FIG. 4 so that the adhesive (or other fastener) 44 contactsthe panty and maintains the sanitary napkin in position within the pantyduring use. The side wrapping elements 50 automatically wrap around thesides of the wearer's panties by the simple action of the wearer pullingup her panties. The side wrapping elements 50 then assume an in-useposition, one nonlimiting example of which is shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4Ashows that the side wrapping elements 50 can also attach to theunderside of the wearer's panty crotch when the sanitary napkin isprovided with fasteners that extend into the side wrapping elements 50,such as central lateral extensions 46. This can happen automaticallywhen the wearer's thighs press the side wrapping elements 50 against theunderside of the panty crotch, especially when the wearer's thighs arerelatively large.

FIG. 5 shows a phenomena that may occur when the sanitary napkin isprovided with side wrapping elements that have fasteners with centrallateral extensions 46. The side wrapping elements 50 are shown asfolding around a side edge E of a crotch portion of a wearer'sundergarment, U, about a longitudinally-oriented fold line F. It hasbeen found that the central lateral extensions 46 can be of such a sizeand configuration that when the sanitary napkin is worn in narrow pantycrotches, the fold line F divides the central extensions 46 into twoportions comprising a first portion 46A and a second portion 46B. Insuch cases, the fold line is disposed far enough outboard of the sideedge of the crotch portion of said undergarment so that a portion ofsaid side wrapping element 50 comprising a first and second portions 50Aand 50B: respectively, of the side wrapping element 50 and the adhesiveportions 46A and 46B thereon overlap and adhere to each other outboardof the side edge of said undergarment so that the side wrapping elementforms a structure which can "grasp" or "pinch" the longitudinal edge ofthe panty crotch. This not only assists in maintaining the side wrappingelements 50 around the panty crotch when the panties are in placeagainst the wearer's body, but also maintains the side wrapping elements50 in position when the wearer pulls her panties down to check thesanitary napkin.

The operation of the side wrapping elements 50 is distinguishable inseveral aspects from that of conventional side flaps. First, placing asanitary napkin having conventional flaps in a pair of panties andpulling up the panties will not consistently provide the automaticsustained wraparound feature of the present invention. There are severalreasons for this. Conventional flaps are not provided with resistance tobending and crumpling so that they will tend to crumple in use,particularly when the wearer's thighs exert compressive forces on theflaps. Conventional flaps are also not provided with zones ofextensibility, so they will generally not wrap around and conform to thepanties. In those cases where conventional flaps do wrap around thepanties, since conventional flaps do not have zones of extensibilitythey will not consistently stay wrapped. Second, conventionally-sizedflaps will have excess flap material that hangs down underneath thepanties during wear. This material can move around excessivelyunderneath the panties and be uncomfortable for the wearer. The sidewrapping elements of the present invention, on the other hand, have aspan that is ideally just wide enough to wrap around theelastic-containing edges of the panties, but no wider, avoiding theproblems associated with excess flap material.

2. Alternative Embodiments.

Numerous alternative embodiments of the present invention are possible.For example, the side wrapping elements are preferably minor images ofeach other, and are symmetrical about the longitudinal centerline.However, it should be understood that the shape and location of the sidewrapping elements described herein are those of a preferred embodiment,and other embodiments are also possible. For example, while the sidewrapping elements 50 are shown as extending from each longitudinal edgeof the main body portion, there may only be one side wrapping elementextending from one of the edges of the main body portion. Further, theside wrapping elements 50 may be offset along the longitudinalcenterline more towards one end edge of the main body portion than theother.

The terms "panty liner" or "pantiliner" refer to absorbent articles thatare less bulky than sanitary napkins which are generally worn by womenbetween their menstrual periods. Suitable absorbent articles in the formof pantiliners that can be provided with the side wrapping elementsdescribed herein are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,676 entitled"Pantiliner" issued to Osborn on Apr. 19, 1988.

The term "incontinence article" refers to pads, undergarments (pads heldin place by a suspension system of same type, such as a belt, or thelike), inserts for absorbent articles, capacity boosters for absorbentarticles, briefs, bed pads, and the like, regardless of whether they areworn by adults or other incontinent persons. Suitable incontinentarticles that can be provided with the side wrapping elements describedherein are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,054 issued to Feist, et al.on Apr. 5, 1994 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,161 issued to Noel, et al. Apr.19, 1994.

The disclosures of all patents, patent applications (and any patentswhich issue thereon, as well as any corresponding published foreignpatent applications), and publications mentioned throughout this patentapplication are hereby incorporated by reference herein. It is expresslynot admitted, however, that any of the documents incorporated byreference herein teach or disclose the present invention. It is alsoexpressly not admitted that any of the commercially available materialsor products described herein teach or disclose the present invention.

3. Test Methods

The side wrapping elements 50 should provide sufficient bending andcrumpling resistance so that they will fold rather than crumple in useand automatically wrap the edges of the wearer's panties. Bending andcrumpling resistance is measured by the Flexure Bending Test.

FLEXURE BENDING TEST

The Flexure Bending Test is performed on samples that have beenconditioned by leaving them in a room at 50% relative humidity and at73° F. for a period of two hours prior to the test.

The flexure bending test uses an INSTRON Model 4502 tensile andcompression testing machine, which is available from Instron Corporationof Canton, Mass. The test also uses a special displacement "T-rod" and aspecial test sample holder. As shown in FIG. 6, the "T-rod" 1101comprises a pair of 1/4 inch (6.35 mm) diameter metal rodsperpendicularly mounted together. The drive rod 1102 (the longer of therods) is about 125 mm (about 5.25 inches) long and the push rod 1103(the shorter of the rods) is about 75 mm (about 3 inches) long.Preferably, the end of the drive rod 1102 is tapered to fit thecircumference of the push rod 1103 and the two are glued, welded and/orscrewed to each other. The opposite end of the drive rod 1102 is mountedto the crosshead unit of the INSTRON machine. The test sample holder1104 comprises a fixture base 1105 to position and support a pair ofsupporting rods 1108. The fixture base 1105 comprises a base 1105 andtwo rectangular supports 1107 mounted in parallel on the base 1106. Thebase 1106 and the supports 1107 are each preferably made of LEXAN(plexiglas) plate of about 3/8 to 1/2 (about 1 mm to 1.3 mm) thickness.A supporting rod 1108 of the same materials as the "T-bar" and about 150mm (about 6 inches) long is mounted on each support 1107 of the fixturebase 1105. The supporting rods 1108 are mounted so as to be spaced 16 mmapart, center-to-center. As shown in FIG. 6, the "T-rod" 1101 iscentered between the supporting rods 1108.

The INSTRON machine is set for a crosshead speed of 20 mm/min, a chartspeed of 400 mm/min, and with full scale at 125 grams_(f). The INSTRONmachine is set up so that the crosshead unit will travel 6 mm down andback, with the chart provided by printing out the data from the test tofollow the crosshead unit down and back.

The sample 1000 to be tested is taken from one of the side wrappingelements and placed so that the push rod 1103 is running parallel to theportion of the sample that was oriented in the longitudinal direction.The sample 1000 taken from the side wrapping elements should have adimension of between 50-75 mm in the longitudinal direction and adimension in the transverse direction of a minimum of 16 mm, preferably25 mm, or if neither is possible, any length available. Thus, it is morelikely than not that in the actual test, the sample 1000 will besituated (differently from that shown in FIG. 6) wherein its longerdimension will be parallel to the push rod 1103. The garment-facingsurface of the sample 1000 (typically the backsheet side) is placedtoward the T-rod 1101.

The T-rod 1101 is "zeroed" on top of the sample 1000 with a preload of 1gram_(f). This takes out any bowing of the sample and insures goodcontact of the T-rod with the sample. Each sample is run through the 6mm travel cycle twice, with a 30 second stop between cycles. A total of10 samples are run.

A graph of T-bar deflection force (grams_(f)) versus T-bar deflectiondistance (mm) will be generated. A representative run of a sampleshowing the two cycles is shown in FIG. 7. The deflection force at 4 mmand 5 mm, for each cycle, is determined on the recovery force curve. Therecovery deflection force at 4 mm and 5 mm are averaged to calculate acycle recovery deflection force. The average of both cycle recoverydeflection forces for each sample determines the sample recoverydeflection force. The bending flexure recovery force for the structureis the average of the value of the sample recovery deflection force forthe 10 samples. The side wrapping elements should have a resistance tobending as measured in terms of bending flexure recovery force ofbetween about 2 grams and about 50 grams, preferably between about 4grams and about 30 grams, and more preferably between about 4 grams andabout 15 grams.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention,

What is claimed is:
 1. An extensible multi-layer composite material foruse in an absorbent article, said composite material comprising:adrawable spunbonded, polyethylene nonwoven, non-elastomeric coverstockweb, said coverstock web returning less than 10% toward its unextendeddimension after extension, an extensible liquid impervious film backing;and an extensible three dimensional film positioned between saidnonwoven web and said film backing and joined to said coverstock web andsaid film backing.